People started designing with moss thousands of years ago. Japanese Zen Buddhist monks were among the firsts to do so, by using moss in their rock gardens (aka zen gardens). Their zen gardens were not intended to necessarily imitate the actual appearance, but the intimate and profound quality of nature. Zen Buddhist monks admired the cool tranquility of moss, so they cultivated it on stones and walls. These carefully composed arrangements of rocks, moss, sand, pruned trees, and other organic features served as a meditation aid as well as a connection to nature.

When designing with moss at Planted Design, like the Buddhist monks, we do not necessarily strive to copy the actual appearance of nature, but we want to bring our clients closer to how we feel when we are in nature-- a sense of calmness, familiarity, and focus. We want people to feel a connection with our natural world when experiencing our moss work.

We designed this for Marin Natural Medicine Clinic, for acupuncture patients to view while getting their treatments.